Firestorm
by Lorna2304
Summary: Adventure/romance story, eventual Alex/Yassen slash. MI6 are suspicious of Matthew Wilson, the head of Firestorm phones. What will Alex find out about him and what does Yassen Gregorovich have to do with everything? xX Please R&R! Xx
1. Chapter 1

This is my first Alex Rider fic, so i hope you like it :) it will be eventual Alex/Yassen towards the end. Hope you enjoy!

Firestorm

Chapter 1

Alex Rider woke up. He rolled over, yawned, and turned off his alarm, grimacing against the sunlight that was creeping in through his bedroom window. It was Monday morning, precisely a week after his 16th birthday, and he was about to get ready for school.

As he padded over to the bathroom, still yawning, he stretched, still finding pleasure in not having any bruises or broken bones, despite his last mission for MI6 being over a year ago. They hadn't contacted him since just before his 15th birthday, when he had adamantly refused to talk to them, and they had reluctantly conceded. He was beginning to think they had forgotten about him.

Alex couldn't feel more pleased about MI6 not being in his life anymore. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he didn't have to constantly worry about whether there would be a phone call waiting for him when he got home, from Alan Blunt or Mrs Jones.

Despite this, there still seemed to be a part of him that missed the action and adrenaline of his missions. However, Alex had learned to bury this part deep inside him. After all, it would only lead to trouble, and he really didn't need any more of that.

He had gone back to school, and after a few months when his friends had realised he wasn't going to be 'ill' again, they had accepted him readily, and he now had an almost normal life.

Almost normal, because his dreams were still haunted with images of the horrors he had seen during his missions. Usually featured were all the people who had died as a result of him, taunting him, calling him a murderer. He frequently told himself it wasn't his fault any of these people had died, yet they still hung around his subconscious and pushed to the surface every time he fell asleep.

Pushing these thoughts from his mind, as he did every morning, Alex pulled on his clothes and went downstairs to see what Jack had cooked him for breakfast, or at least tried to cook anyway. She had never exactly been the cooking type. When he arrived in the kitchen, he took one disgusted look at the runny scrambled eggs on his plate and immediately lost his appetite.

"Jack, when will you actually learn to cook properly?" He smiled at her as she entered the room to see him making himself toast while scraping the failed breakfast into the bin.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad was it?" She grinned back at him, making herself a cup of coffee. "I guess I'll never get the hang of cooking. Good thing you can take care of yourself, Alex".

A brief look of sadness crossed her face as she studied him, so quick that Alex could almost have imagined it. However, when he next looked, she had a completely neutral look on her face, as if she was trying not to think about something.

As always, Alex felt guilty that Jack had been dragged into all of this because of him. He felt as if he was keeping her here against her will, especially since she had started mentioning how much she wanted to go back to the USA to stay with her family for a while.

Alex quickly bolted his breakfast down so that he could leave for school; the atmosphere was getting a bit too awkward in the kitchen. Giving Jack a quick wave goodbye, he left the house, grabbed his bike and started pedalling to school.

It was a pleasant day outside, and Alex pedalled slowly, drinking in the sunlight. For once, the weather was acting like it should do on a mid-August day. Up until now, the sky had been overcast, and he had been wondering if summer was actually going to arrive this year.

As Alex pulled into the road next to his school, something caught his eye. Two men, looking extremely shifty, were exchanging what looked suspiciously like drugs and money. Alex narrowed his eyes and pedalled slowly towards them, trying to take a closer look without looking suspicious.

As he watched, the man who had dealt the drugs headed over towards a car, and climbed in the passenger seat. The man in the driver seat immediately put his foot down and sped off into the distance. Alex made a split second decision and shot after him, pedalling frantically to keep the car in sight.

The car sped first left, then right, and then left again, and Alex was certain he was going to lose it. Why did he decide to do this? He should be leaving this kind of life behind; he should be pulling into school right now and laughing with his mates.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, though, the car pulled into a road that was heavy with traffic, and he pedalled slowly forwards, keeping his distance to stop the driver becoming suspicious of him. However, as he inched forwards, trying to get a closer look at the car, he glanced at the wing mirror and saw the driver looking straight back at him.

Immediately, the driver narrowed his eyes, put his foot down and sped through the red lights, Alex pedalling like mad to keep up. Okay, so he hadn't planned for the guy to find out he was following him...but he had to keep going. He had to stop this guy. For all he knew he was selling drugs to people in his school, and he didn't need a repeat of what happened before with Skoda.

The car sped down countless twists and turns, and Alex started losing his bearings. He could only hope that they decided to give up soon before he got completely lost. What had started as a pleasant day now felt stiflingly hot, and his heavy school bag and uniform felt like it was dragging him down with every metre he pedalled.

Finally, just as he was contemplating forgetting about it and heading back to school, the car made a final swerve into a multi-story car park, and he knew they had come to their destination. Perhaps they were planning on disposing of him here, but he would show them. He wasn't as easy to get rid of as that.

Creeping slowly up the ramp to the next level of the car park, Alex glanced around him, trying to see where the two men had stopped the car. As he emerged onto level two of the car park, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, and threw himself behind a parked van. Slowly he edged his head around, and saw the two men standing next to their car, looking around apprehensively.

Quickly, Alex moved back behind the van, and planned his next move. From the look of them, they were the usual dim witted criminals, and he was pretty sure he would have the upper hand in a fight. He was, after all, a black belt in karate. Sure, these guys probably had the strength, but they would be way too slow to take him on. With this in mind, Alex composed himself, and got ready to make his move.

Slowly, and as quietly as possible, he edged forwards towards the next car, and then ducked behind it. Trying to get at close to the men as he could without being seen, he crept along behind the next few cars, until he was right behind them. Cautiously, he crawled nearer and nearer, until with a screech that sounded unnaturally loud in the silence, he accidentally scraped his arm along the side of the car.

Swearing to himself, he got quickly to his feet as the men spun around, and adopted a defence position. The driver was the first to come towards him, and without hesitation, Alex waited for him to come as close as possible before ducking from the punch the man aimed and giving him a back-kick right to the abdomen. The man's eyes bulged, and he fell to the ground in a heap.

Looking up, Alex saw the second man looking at him with shock. A split second later he was running, and Alex was chasing him. Sprinting as fast as he could, he began catching the man up and smiled coldly to himself as he saw where the man had run to. Alex had cornered him.

Walking slowly towards the man, Alex saw him standing stock still with an expression of fear and anger on his face. With one swift movement, Alex aimed a kick right into the man's groin. As the man bent over, doubled up in pain, Alex punched him in the side of his head and knocked him out cold.

Alex surveyed the scene, contemplating what he should do about these two. He couldn't just leave them here, or they would be back on the streets tomorrow, dealing again. As he stood looking at the two men laying unconscious on the floor, Alex seemed to come to his senses. What was he doing, standing here wondering what to do with these men? He wasn't like that anymore. Walking towards the entrance to the car park, Alex pulled out his phone and called the police, telling them that there were two criminals unconscious in the car park, before hanging up. Alex got on his bike, and started pedalling back the way he came, towards school. He was going to be extremely late.

Alex walked out of school with his best friend Tom. He had told him all about what happened before school, and Tom had helped him come up with an excuse that seemed at last slightly plausible, so that he didn't get into even more trouble. However, the end of the day finally arrived, and Alex was pretty sure he knew what was coming.

With a sense of foreboding, Alex waved goodbye to Tom and began to cycle home. In the past, whenever something like this happened, it was usually followed by a call from MI6 asking him to come in. It had happened like this on his very first mission, when he had survived the incident in the breaker's yard, and then found out about his uncle. It had also happened in his very next mission. He had been chasing drug dealers then too...pushing this to the back of his mind, Alex pulled up to his house, and unlocked the door, holding his breath.

Confirming his suspicions, Jack was waiting for him just inside the door. She looked at him grimly, and only needed to say a few words.

"I had a call today Alex. From Mr. Blunt."

Alex nodded at her resignedly and sighed, dropping his bag and moving towards the phone. He may as well get it over with and find out what he wanted. He picked up the phone and dialled the number that he knew all too well by now. There was no mistaking the voice on the other end of the line.

"Alex, how nice to hear from you. I trust you have been well?" Alan Blunt's cold voice had no emotion in it, and Alex knew he didn't give a damn about how he felt.

"Just tell me what you want, and get it over with". He replied equally coldly, feeling hate towards the man with every fibre of his being.

"I need you to come in. There is a matter of...importance of which we need to speak".

Alex glared at the wall, hating himself for what he was about to do. Because if he agreed to go and talk to Blunt, there was no going back. He would be convinced, or blackmailed, and when he left that building he would have the weight of the world on his shoulders once again.

But if he refused, he knew they would end up getting to him somehow, whether it was through Jack, or someone else close to him, they would do it. And he couldn't let anyone else get hurt. Sighing, he spoke the words that sealed his doom.

"Fine. Just tell me when".

So, hope you liked it! Please review, will help me know whether to carry on or not :) x


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, here's chapter 2! I'm kinda upset that I don't have any reviews yet, but seeing as I have a few subscriptions I'm going to carry on with it. Hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 2

Alex stood outside the door to the Royal and General bank. He didn't think it was possible to hate MI6 more right now. And yet, he told himself, he was standing here outside, about to talk to Mr Blunt. He was letting himself be used by them again.

It was as much his fault at it was theirs. MI6 constantly used him, hurt him, and yet here he was, letting it happen again. He couldn't help but admit that they had a hold on him. No matter how much he might want to be one, he wasn't a normal school boy any more. Maybe he never had been. And now he was never going to get the chance to be; MI6 had taken him over completely.

He wouldn't be surprised if, when he finished school, he let Mr Blunt convince him to work for them full time. There was a part of him that even felt a small thrill at the thought of being a full time spy. The rest of him was disgusted by it. He knew the reality of what would happen if he joined MI6 permanently. He probably wouldn't even survive to see his 20th birthday.

With a sigh, and cursing Mr Blunt and Mrs Jones, Alex opened the door, wondering what on Earth he would end up having to do this time. Nodding at the security guard, he made his way up the lift to Blunt's office. Entering, he saw the same cold, emotionless man sitting at the same boring, grey desk in his boring, grey office. With a sigh, Alex sat down.

"Good morning, Alex. It's nice to see you again." Mr Blunt could have been ordering someone's death, and he still would have used the same impassive tone.

"Just tell me what you want. No doubt it'll be a completely harmless mission where I'll end up nearly being killed."

Blunt's facial expression didn't change, although Alex could have sworn he saw a flash of annoyance cross it for a split second. Alex smirked to himself.

"We have been watching a man named Matthew Wilson for quite a while now. You may have heard of him."

The name seemed familiar to him...racking his brains, Alex suddenly remembered where he'd heard the name.

"Isn't he the head of Firestorm phones?" The Firestorm phones were a new range of smart phones made especially for children aged 11-16. Matthew Wilson, the head of Firestorm, seemed to be trying to outdo Steve Jobs and Apple. It had certainly worked; almost every child in the country owned a Firestorm phone, Alex had one himself.

"Yes. Let me tell you a bit about his history.

"Wilson was born in Surrey in 1979. When he was 11 years old, he ran away from home, and lived on the streets for most of his childhood. However, when he was 15, he was mugged by a group of teenagers. They attacked him, and left him on the streets to die.

"After this little mishap, however, he was fostered and raised by a rich couple. He eventually went to university to study science and technology, a subject he had always had an interest in. He rose straight to the top in his career, and quickly became the head of Firestorm phones, a company he created himself. He claims to have 'overcome adversity'. We are suspicious of him."

Alex let this information sink in. It was always the ones who had 'overcome adversity' that ended up being the insane psychopaths. Since when did being bullied or living on the streets have to mean you had to kill a load of people?

"Also, we will need you to give us your phone. I assume you have a Firestorm? We don't think it's safe for you to carry one until we know what we're dealing with."

With a sigh, Alex handed over his phone. "So. How do you expect me to spy on him?"

"We have reasons to believe he has been using sweat shops. We think he's been using street children to work for him; paying them less than the minimum wage.

"The only reason they keep coming back is because it keeps them off the streets and they get a small amount of money for it, even if it's barely enough to survive on."

Alex was horrified. Of all the people to exploit street kids, a man who had been through it himself was doing it? No wonder MI6 thought something was up with him. And he could see where this conversation was going.

"I get it. You want me to pretend to be a street kid so I can have a look around." He didn't need to ask, it was a statement. Mr Blunt merely inclined his head.

"Well, I guess I don't have any choice. I know by now what will happen if I say no."

There was something not quite right in the way Blunt had been talking to him. He got the feeling that he wasn't being told everything. Well, thought Alex, that makes a change. Mr Blunt showed no notion of knowing what Alex was talking about. He stood silently, and gestured towards the door.

"I think you'll be wanting to visit Mr Smithers."

As Alex turned to leave the office, something caught his eye. On the file that was open on Mr Blunt's desk, something written in red ink at the bottom jumped out at him. It said:

'Yassen Gregorovich involved?'

It seemed Mr Blunt wanted to keep that secret from him. So much for it being a harmless mission; he knew he was right to have a hunch that Mr Blunt wasn't telling him everything. Since when had what Blunt told him ever been the whole truth? With a sigh, Alex continued to Mr Smithers' office, hoping he was going to get a weapon this time.

Alex walked home, after a successful visit to Mr Smithers; the only person at MI6 that he actually liked. Smithers had given him an earring with explosives in (he was going to have to get his ear pierced again), trainers with a knife hidden in the bottom and shoe laces made of super strength nylon, and a watch that had a built in tracking device and stun gun.

He had been informed that he should go home and pack, and a car would be round to pick him up at 7pm to take him to a secret location where he would be disguised as a street kid.

Alex wasn't looking forward to telling Jack what was happening. He had promised her he wasn't going to get caught up in all of this again, and he had believed it as well. He laughed hollowly to himself. He was never going to be free of MI6, that was for sure.

Reaching his front door, Alex stopped to take a deep breath. When he had calmed himself, he slowly opened the front door, steeling himself for what he was about to see. Confirming his fears, he saw Jack waiting for him just inside the hallway. However she didn't look angry, she just looked upset.

Alex figured she had realised he was going to end up doing this mission whether he wanted to or not, and had resigned herself to merely accept the fact.

"I'm sorry, Jack. You know I have to do it." Alex looked pleadingly at Jack, hoping she would leave the subject alone so he could have a couple of hours of quiet before he had to leave.

"I know, Alex. That's why I'm upset; I know that there's nothing I can do to stop this. I know that no matter what MI6 have told you, you're going to get hurt. And I have no way of knowing whether you're even going to make it this time.

"Every time you go on one of these missions, you get worse injuries. What if you don't recover this time, Alex?"

Jack was almost in tears. Alex hugged her, not trusting himself to speak just yet. Everything Jack had said was true, and it had been going through his own mind all the way home. He wished there was something, anything, that he could do to stop this madness, but as always he drew a blank.

There was nothing he could do, and he was going to end up working for MI6 for the rest of his life, he could see it already. However, pushing these thoughts to the back of his mind, he tried his best to comfort Jack.

"Don't worry, Jack. You know I always pull through, no matter what. I'll be fine." Knowing how fake his voice sounded, Alex turned away from Jack's distraught face and walked upstairs to his room. He needed to be by himself to think. Not only was there the normal threat of every mission he'd had to do in the past, but this time Yassen Gregorovich might be involved.

After everything Alex had found out about Yassen, he wasn't sure how he felt about him anymore. At first he had hated him, when he found out he had killed Ian Rider. However, now that he knew how Yassen had felt about his father, and himself, his thoughts on the man had changed.

He was grateful for the amount of times Yassen had saved his life, despite it being easier just to kill him. He would always feel hate towards the man that had killed his uncle, but he now almost felt a sense of respect towards him, despite how much he tried to deny it.

Although he was not ready to admit it to himself at all, he almost wanted to see Yassen in this mission. Maybe it would help him sort out his feelings towards the man if he were to meet him again and see him working for another evil mastermind.

With a sigh, Alex closed his eyes and lay back on his bed, trying to relax himself. He was going to need his strength, soon enough.

Hope you liked it, please review! it will make me very happy! :D x


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is here! Thankyou to T M A, RmfD and kitkat for reviews on chapter 2, its great to know people are enjoying it! More reviews will definately make me very happy indeed =] x

Chapter 3

Alex sat in the passenger seat of a sleek black Aston Martin, thinking to himself. The man who was driving the car hadn't spoken to him at all, and he hadn't looked at him since giving him a cursory glance as he got into the car at his home in Chelsea.

Alex was currently being driven to the sweat shop where he would be spending the next few days of his life pretending to be a street kid working there. He had just been disguised, by a woman MI6 said was the best in the trade, and he now looked, and felt, extremely dirty.

His clothes were stained and ripped, and smelt like they had been left in a skip for several years. He had been given a smelly pair of trainers, and his hair had been chopped to look like it had been cut by a 5 year old with a bowl and a blunt pair of scissors.

Along with his disguise, Alex had with him the gadgets Smithers had given him. He had an extra sharp knife in the bottom of his trainers, and a watch that had already had a tracking signal activated on it, along with a stun gun that Smithers had added himself as a bonus.

Finally, Alex had had his ear pierced again, with an earring that doubled as a powerful explosive. Despite smelling foul, and having a painful throbbing in his ear, Alex felt slightly safer with his gadgets. At least he wouldn't be going in there completely defenceless.

As Alex sat in the car, creating wild scenarios in his head of what mad invention Matthew Wilson might have up his sleeve, the car began to slow, and pulled to a stop outside a row of dilapidated flats. Alex had no idea where he was, but it looked pretty run down. He definitely wouldn't look out of place walking around here.

The driver turned to Alex, and spoke the first words of the journey.

"The sweat shop is a few streets down from here. You won't miss it; it's a large abandoned warehouse. Just go in there, find someone and tell them you want to work there. They won't suspect anything."

Alex climbed out of the car and the driver sped off without a second glance. With thoughts of just how kind and thoughtful the people of MI6 were, he headed off down the street in the direction of the sweat shop. He wondered what the living conditions were going to be like. Whatever it turned out to be like in there, it wasn't exactly going to be a five star hotel.

He sighed to himself. Trust MI6 to send him somewhere where he would be expected to work all day, and no doubt sleep in a dirty little room with no proper bed. How did MI6 expect him to have any energy left to go sneaking around?

With these cheerful thoughts in mind, Alex looked up and saw the unmistakable abandoned warehouse. It definitely fitted in with the surroundings; it was dirty, ugly, and looked like a strong wind would knock it down. Feeling his heart sink even more, Alex walked in through the door at the front and looked around, hoping to see someone soon so he wouldn't have to look like he was snooping around. That wouldn't exactly be a good start.

As Alex stood at the entrance, looking slightly nervous, a man walked up to him. He looked like a typical stupid criminal, with long straggly hair, missing teeth, and a large beer belly that was failing to be hidden by his dirty white t-shirt and ripped jeans. He looked at Alex as if he was a piece of dirt on the bottom of his shoe, and growled at him.

"I take it you're here to get a job."

Trying to hide the look of disgust on his face, Alex made himself look scared, and eager, and nodded quickly, looking at the floor. The man grabbed Alex by the arm, and dragged him into the building, not appearing to care whether he hurt him or not.

He took him to a corridor where there were rooms leading off the sides all the way down, and as Alex glanced in through the small dirty windows, he saw boys and girls, all of them children, sitting in tiny, smelly rooms, on disgusting stained mattresses. They finally reached a room near the end of the corridor, and the man threw him in, shutting the door behind him. So, this was where he was going to be staying. It certainly lived up to his expectations.

The room was only just big enough to fit a small mattress in, and there was nothing else in the room. The mattress itself looked like it had spent a couple of decades rotting in a tip, and Alex realised that it probably had. Alex didn't even want to guess what some of the stains were on it. However, it would have to do. He couldn't exactly go and ask for a nicer bed.

Alex gingerly sat on the mattress, hoping he wouldn't catch anything from it. It seemed there was nothing to do except sit and think until someone came to get him. He seriously hoped he wasn't going to have to do anything too bad, however he had the feeling it wasn't exactly going to be fun.

Alex didn't have long to wait. Before long, the same man that had dragged him in came and smashed open his door. Before he had the chance to even stand up, the man had grabbed him again and forced him along the corridor back the way he had come. After a minute or so, they came to a door, and as the man threw it open, Alex saw a sight that made him feel anger deep inside him.

Hundreds of children, some of them looking as young as 7 or 8, were sitting at small tables, fixing together pieces of mobile phones. Most of them looked half starved, and they all shared a look of desperation and anxiety. With a heavy heart, Alex sat at the table the man had dragged him to, and looked at what was on it.

It looked like he was going to be putting microchips in the phones; possibly the fiddliest thing they could have found for the children to do. Doing this all day, every day, would probably give the children problems with their hands for the rest of their lives, not to mention their eye sight. And all this for a tiny amount of money that would barely even buy them lunch. With a feeling of hate towards Matthew Wilson, Alex sat down to work and vowed to find out what Wilson was doing, and to bring him down, no matter what it took.

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Alex slowly walked back to his room. He had spent all day putting the microchips into the phones, and it was living hell. His neck was aching, his arms were aching, his fingers were aching and his eyes were aching. He prayed that he would find something out about Wilson soon, so he could get out of here, and help all of the other children that were working here too. No one deserved to be working in conditions like these.

Along with having to work with tiny pieces of technology, men had been prowling around next to them as they worked; all of them looking like clones of the man that had seen to Alex. The men had watched the children as they worked, and beaten them if they thought they were going too slowly. Alex had earned himself several smacks around the head for giving one of the men a glare as he hit a 7 year old girl for dropping one of the microchips on the floor.

As Alex dropped onto his mattress in exhaustion, his train of thought went to the children he had been working with. He had tried to be friendly, talking to them in their quick 5 minute lunch break and trying to start a conversation, but it became quickly apparent that all of the children were too scared to talk to him. He could only assume that they got beaten for talking as well.

Alex resigned himself to that fact that he would have to get through yet another mission all by himself. Although, Alex thought to himself, it's not like it had bothered him before, he was used to being alone. Being an outcast was another thing MI6 had guaranteed for him.

Lying down on his mattress, Alex turned over and tried to get to sleep. He was tired, cold, hungry, and his whole body ached. As he started drifting off to sleep, he wondered absently what he was going to find out about Matthew Wilson. How was he going to find anything out? From what he'd seen so far, Wilson wasn't even at the sweat shop, so how was he going to find out about him?

Deciding to think about it in the morning, Alex shifted to a more comfortable position, and drifted off into a fitful sleep. It was definitely going to be a long night.

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OK, hope you liked it! Please remember to review, I need them to stay alive =] xxxx


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, here's chapter 4! Thankyou for all the amazing reviews, it makes me so happy to know that people like what I'm doing! This chapter is kinda short, but I'm gonna make up for it by bringing in a certain new character next chapter :D Enjoy! x

Chapter 4

Alex sat on his mattress, listening intently for any noise coming from the corridor. It was his second night undercover at the sweat shop, and he had decided it was definitely time to do some sneaking around. Hopefully, he would be able to hear a conversation or something that would give him an idea about what he was looking for here. After all, with Wilson not being around, he didn't have much to go on yet.

Sitting completely still, Alex finally heard complete silence throughout the corridor. He knew that this corridor wasn't guarded, so it was just a case of waiting until no one was walking past. He grinned to himself as he thought about how wrong these people were to think that children didn't need guarding. He was going to show them.

Quickly and quietly, Alex eased open the door to his room and glanced down the corridor both ways, confirming that it was empty. He silently closed the door behind him and made his way towards the office where he knew the head of the sweat shop was. Hopefully he would be able to overhear something.

Creeping as quietly as he could, Alex edged towards the office. As he stood in the shadows, pressed against the wall, he heard the man call someone on the phone.

"Wilson. It's Peters here. Yeah, just calling to confirm that the microchips have been activated and the street rats have started putting them into the phones already. Those kids aren't gonna know what's hit them. You still coming down here tomorrow? Okay, I'll see you then."

Alex stayed pressed against the wall, just in case the man, Peters, decided to leave his office. However, after a while of nothing happening, Alex headed back to his room, running his mind over what he had just heard. From the sound of it, something was definitely wrong with the microchips. He said they had been activated, but what did he mean by that?

As he walked along, deep in thought, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching him from behind. Without a moment's hesitation, Alex threw himself into an alcove at the side of the corridor, pressing himself as far into the shadows as possible. He held his breath as a man walked past, holding a gun. Alex narrowed his eyes, watching the man walk away. They were definitely up to something if they had armed men walking around at night.

Feeling confused, Alex slipped back into his room and decided that he would sort something out tomorrow. Perhaps he should try to get his hands on one of the microchips, and then he could take a look at it and get a better idea of what Wilson was up to. Also, Peters had mentioned that Wilson would be coming down to the sweat shop tomorrow, so perhaps that would be an opportunity to do a bit more spying. With these thoughts running through his head, Alex eventually drifted off to sleep.

XXX

Yawning, Alex slowly sat up and stretched, trying to ease the pain in his aching limbs. Not only was the work hurting his muscles, it didn't help that he had to sleep on a disgusting mattress every night. Sighing, he pulled on his clothes and walked to the work station, thinking about how much he wanted a shower right now.

Remembering what he had overheard last night, Alex had already decided to try and take one of the microchips to inspect it himself. After all, he did know a fair bit about computers. It was one of the many subjects Ian had made him study hard, seeing as computer knowledge can be extremely useful in the spying business.

Alex sat at his work bench. He had a big box of phones, and a box of microchips. Trying to be as discreet as possible, he picked up one of the chips and slowly moved his hand towards his pocket. However, just as he slipped it in, he heard a shout come from behind him.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?"

One of the men that were patrolling the area was striding towards him, with a cold glare on his face. Before Alex had a chance to get into a defence position, the man grabbed him, and yanked him by the arm in the direction of the door. Struggling madly, Alex tried to pull his arm from the man's grip, but he had too strong a hold on him.

As Alex pulled harder and harder, they finally stopped outside a door that Alex hadn't seen before. It had no window in it, and when the door opened, he saw that there was nothing in the room apart from a chair with chains attached to it. This definitely didn't look good.

Confirming his fears, the man that was practically breaking Alex's arm pushed him into the chair and yanked his arms in a painful position behind his back. With a smug look on his face, the man chained Alex's wrists together, making it impossible to move his arms.

As Alex looked up at the man with a bitter glare on his face, the man came towards him, rolling up his sleeves. With one sneer at Alex's face, he punched him right in the stomach, not giving Alex a chance to tense his muscles. Alex grimaced in pain, fighting the urge to cry out. He didn't want to give the man the satisfaction.

Over the next half an hour, Alex was beaten half to death by the grinning demon of a man. He felt like all the bones in his body had been broken, and he felt warm blood dripping down his face from his nose.

With a grin in Alex's direction, the man walked towards the door, pausing only to wish Alex a good night in a voice dripping with cold humour, before shutting and locking the door. With a sick feeling in his stomach, Alex realised he was going to be left there all night. He could only hope that someone would come for him in the morning.

Alex shut his eyes, wondering how on Earth he had managed to get into this situation. How could he have been so stupid when trying to take the microchip? He didn't even look around to check no one was watching him! Well, there wasn't anything he could do about it now. With a sigh, and a pained expression on his face, Alex resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to spend the night chained to this chair. It seemed his luck was beginning to run out.

XXX

So, there we go :P I feel mean for leaving Alex in such a horrible way! But, for all of you who can't wait to see Yassen arriving, I think chapter 5 may be for you :P And seeing as I can't wait to get Yassen in the story either, it should be here pretty soon! Please keep reviewing, it will make me update even quicker! xxxx


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, I know I just posted chapter 4, but I have a lot of time on my hands! haha okay, understatement. I just really wanted to get Yassen into the story, and was kinda disappointed about how short the last chapter turned out. So, let me know what you think of this one! :D x x x

Chapter 5

Alex woke up, groaning in pain. He reminded himself never to work in a sweat shop and then get beaten to a pulp again; it wasn't the nicest experience in the world. After spending a sleepless night chained to the cold metal chair, a man had come into the room in the early hours of the morning and dragged him back to his room.

The man had practically had to carry him half the way, as Alex's legs were refusing to cooperate after being in a sitting position all night. The man had wordlessly shoved him into his room, before whispering one sentence to him.

"If you ever do anything like that again, next time you won't be so lucky."

Alex had lain down on his mattress, thinking that by the feel of his body, he hadn't exactly been lucky this time either. After only an hour or so of fitful sleep, it was time for Alex to get up and go to work again. He stumbled slowly down the corridor, wondering if he was going to make it through the day. He highly doubted it.

Throughout the day, Alex became more and more tired, and his limbs began to hurt so much that he wasn't sure he'd be able to carry on moving for much longer. To add insult to injury, every time he stopped for a moment to recover, one of the patrolling men would come over and give him a smack around the head, shouting at him to hurry up.

Alex silently cursed MI6 for sending him to this place. How did they expect him to get anything done if he was too tired to even walk around? He vowed to get the job done as quickly as possible so he could get out of there. He didn't think he could stand one more day in this place.

XXX

Alex was sitting in his room, thinking. He wanted more than anything to just go to sleep and forget about everything, but he knew deep down that he couldn't do that. The only reason he was here in the first place was to find out what Wilson was up to, and he couldn't do that while he was asleep. Anyway, he had the opportunity tonight of Wilson actually being here in person.

With a sigh, Alex stood up and listened at the door. He couldn't hear anyone walking past, but then he couldn't be sure. They would be suspicious of him after what happened yesterday. He opened his door a crack and peered warily out. After confirming that the coast was clear, he slipped out and headed towards Peters' office. If Wilson was going to be anywhere, it was there.

Slowly and carefully, he sneaked along the corridor to the office, jumping into the shadows every time he heard a noise. It certainly seemed that there were more armed men around tonight. Did that have anything to do with the fact that Wilson was here? He wouldn't put it past the man to have his own private army.

As Alex reached the door to the office, he heard voices coming from inside and crept into the same shadowy alcove he had hid in the previous night. It was definitely Peters in there talking to someone. Alex strained his ears, trying to hear the conversation.

"Wilson, sir, it's good to see you."

"Yes, whatever Peters. I trust everything is going to plan?"

"Of course, sir. By the end of tomorrow, all the microchips will be in place and the plan will be ready to go ahead as scheduled."

"Not quite, Peters. We suffered a...mishap yesterday. Thanks to a soldier's mistake, there has been a considerable delay to the activation of the signal. We will be running at least a day late, if not two."

Alex could almost see the look of disgust on Wilson's face. He shuffled nearer to the door to hear the rest of the conversation.

"Of course, the man responsible for the delay has been...taken care of."

Alex glared at the closed door. As always, the evil genius had no regard for human life. That sure made a change. Knowing that he wasn't going to hear anything else, Alex turned back to head towards his room. As he walked past a door, however, he heard a quiet voice coming from inside, and he stopped dead. He would have recognised that quiet, emotionless voice anywhere.

Looking through the crack in the door, Alex confirmed his suspicion. Yassen Gregorovich was in there, talking on the phone. However, as Alex watched, Yassen hung up the phone and began to turn around. Alex quickly left before he was spotted.

So, he thought to himself, MI6 were right. Yassen was in on this plot for whatever reason. Alex almost felt disappointed that Yassen was working for another evil man. Shaking himself mentally, he told himself that Yassen was a ruthless killer. No matter who he worked for, people were going to get killed. Alex slipped into his room, and fell asleep almost at once, in a daze. He hadn't realised quite how much seeing Yassen here was going to affect him.

XXX

Yassen Gregorovich stood in the corridor of the sweat shop, waiting patiently for the man he had been sent there to kill. He didn't know who the children here were working for, and he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was killing his target, then getting out of there quickly without being caught. Which wouldn't be hard. This was an easy target, and he was the best, there was nothing else to it.

Finally, as Yassen stood in the shadows, a man walked past. It only took Yassen one glance to check the height, build, and minor details of the man to confirm he was the correct target. He took a second to aim and steady his gun, then he pulled the trigger, and watched in satisfaction as the man felt silently to the ground, without even a chance to cry out. Silent and quick, no complications. Another easy kill.

Quickly, he pulled the body effortlessly into an empty room, hiding him in the shadows. He would be discovered sooner or later, but by then Yassen would be long gone, leaving no trace that he had ever been there. He didn't know who this man was, or why he had been sent to kill him. He didn't care. It only mattered that he got the job done.

Before he left, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called the man who was paying him. He spoke only one sentence.

"The target is dead."

He didn't need to add anything else. He hung up, and was slipping his phone back into his pocket when he felt a strong sense that he was being watched. In one swift movement, he swept over to the door, just in time to see a retreating figure. Even from the back, he could tell who that boy was. Alex Rider. He certainly hadn't expected to see Alex here...

He narrowed his eyes. It was obvious why he was here; MI6 had clearly coerced him into another of their ridiculous missions again. He wondered when they would leave that boy alone.

In his career, it was imperative to have no friends and trust no one. However, he felt a strong bond with this boy. John Rider had been his best and only friend. Seeing his son go through all of this torment, Yassen couldn't help but care for the boy. He didn't deserve to go through this.

In a split second, Yassen made a decision. If MI6 had sent Alex here, it was because there was something suspicious going on. He could help; he may be able to stop Alex being hurt if he stayed here for a while. Completing missions for MI6 wasn't exactly his idea of fun, but if it kept Alex from harm, he would do it.

He would be able to lie low; hiding himself was something that came naturally to Yassen. It was time Alex had some help for once, and Yassen was determined to give it to him. He couldn't sit and watch while Alex was put through hell on yet another heartless mission from the secret services.

He could only hope that Alex would trust him. He had no reason to, after all. Feeling emotions that he hadn't felt for a very long time, Yassen began looking for somewhere to lie low. He would approach Alex tomorrow night and hopefully within a day or so they could be out of there. As long as he managed to keep Alex safe, that was all that mattered.

Wondering if it was safe to be feeling these emotions for someone again, Yassen tried to clear his mind. He needed to be ready for attack at any moment. He could take down almost any opponent without thinking about it, but it paid to be sure. Especially in his line of work...it certainly paid.

XXX

Ok, so what do you think? I hope you like Yassen so far, coz there's gonna be a lot more of him in the rest of the story! :D Please review, coz I need to know if my chacters are any good, or if there's anything I need to change! Also, because reviews make me extremely happy :P X x x


	6. Chapter 6

Wahey, chapter 6 is here! Thankyou everyone that's been reviewing, I love you all! It's really helped me know that people are liking the story and that I should carry on :D So, in this chapter, Alex and Yassen finally meet! It's pretty fluffy towards the end, but I hope I kept them both in character. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 6

Alex sat at his work desk, almost falling asleep. The only things keeping him awake were the constant beatings he was getting from the men. He hadn't been able to concentrate all day, because thoughts about the mission, Wilson, and most importantly Yassen Gregorovich kept going through his mind. Along with that, he hadn't slept properly in days and if his muscles received much more torment he felt like he would never be able to move again.

It didn't help that since the incident with the microchip, he hadn't been left alone for even a second. The men clearly didn't want him to find anything out, although the fact that they hadn't worked out he was in disguise was good. After all, who would suspect a 16 year old boy?

As Alex once again stopped work for a second to ease his aching muscles, he heard shouts and expected to feel a punch in his back again. However, the punch never came. Looking up warily, Alex saw that the shouts weren't for him. The boy sitting next to him, who couldn't have been any older than 8, was slumped over his desk. Alex realised with horror that one of the men had done it to him, probably for nothing more than dropping a phone.

Alex narrowed his eyes and glared at the man that had done it. He was going to beat Matthew Wilson even if it was the last thing he did.

XXX

Alex lay on his bed, a constant frown on his face from the pain he was in. All of his muscles felt like they were on fire, and most of his body was now covered in painful bruises from his experiences with Wilson's men. For what felt like the millionth time, Alex cursed MI6 for getting him into this life. If it wasn't for them, he could be laying in his bed at home, the biggest worry in his life being his maths homework. However, they had taken that away from him, and he would never get it back.

As if the fact that he was here in the first place wasn't bad enough, there was also the unfortunate fact that he had no idea what he was going to do next. He knew the problem was with the microchips, but that was the only information he had. How was he supposed to stop Wilson if he didn't even know what he was stopping him doing? Feeling clueless and utterly useless, Alex rolled over on his mattress, trying and failing to find a comfortable position.

As Alex tossed and turned, he heard a soft knocking at his door. He spun round to stare at the door suspiciously. Why would someone be coming to see him? Before he could say anything, the door cracked open, and the last person Alex suspected slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. Yassen Gregorovich.

Alex stared at him, confused. Had Yassen seen him and worked out why he was here? Or had Wilson suspected him and ordered Yassen to come and deal with him? Just as Alex was about to ask him, Yassen sat down next to him on his mattress and looked him in the eye. Alex felt like Yassen was sitting worryingly close, although that was probably because of the tiny size of the room they were in.

Yassen leaned in towards Alex until they were just inches away, and he was pierced with a stare from Yassen's bright blue eyes.

"Alex. Before I tell you anything, I need you to trust me." Yassen spoke softly, almost a whisper, but Alex heard every word perfectly. He narrowed his eyes, but didn't move away.

"Why should I trust you? You're working for Wilson; you could be here to kill me for all I know."

"No, Alex, I'm not here because I'm working for Wilson. I came here because of a...job. If I hadn't seen you here, I would have been long gone."

Alex was momentarily speechless. Yassen was here because of him? What could he possibly want with Alex?

"Why would you stay here because of me?" Alex asked apprehensively.

"Alex...you know how close I was with your father. He was my best friend. When I saw you here, I knew right away it was MI6 that sent you here. I couldn't just sit back and watch you get hurt again. Believe me; I know what sort of injuries you usually get from these 'missions'. I decided I wanted to help you."

Alex sat and looked and Yassen, dumbstruck. Yassen looked completely devoid of emotion, as usual, but Alex felt as if he had detected something in his voice. Concern? It didn't seem possible that a contract killer, one that had killed his uncle no less, could possibly care about him. It seemed like there wasn't anyone that cared about him. Even Jack had been distant with him recently, and Tom was drifting away from him. Looking back up at Yassen, he looked into his eyes and made a choice.

"Ok." He said simply. "I trust you."

Yassen studied his face for a moment, before nodding slightly to himself. It seemed he had accepted Alex's statement.

"So. Why are you here, Alex? What dirty work have MI6 got you doing this time?" There was a hint of distaste in Yassen's voice, and Alex was surprised to hear him showing his emotions. Surely this confirmed that he meant what he said about caring for Alex?

"MI6 were suspicious of Wilson, so they sent me here to find out more about him. I haven't been doing a great job, though." Alex shifted his position slightly and a sharp pain shot down his spine. He couldn't help the flinch, and Yassen narrowed his eyes, running them over Alex as if seeing his bruises for the first time.

"I see I didn't get here in time to stop you getting hurt." He spoke with anger in his voice, although Alex could tell it wasn't directed at him. Feeling overwhelmed suddenly, Alex realised with alarm that his eyes were filling up with tears. The feeling of having someone care about him seemed to be having rather a large affect on him. He tried to blink the tears away, but Yassen had already seen. With surprise, Alex watched as Yassen put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Alex. You can cry in front of me." He looked deep into Alex's eyes, and squeezed his shoulder slightly. With one last look into Yassen's eyes, Alex closed his eyes and let the tears flow. He didn't know how long he sat there, in that tiny room with Yassen's hand on his shoulder, crying freely, but it felt like years. When he eventually stopped, he wiped his eyes with a shaky hand and looked back at Yassen.

It felt like something had changed between them. He still felt anger towards Yassen, deep down, and he always would. But now, when he looked at him, he felt safe. And, for the first time since MI6 had first contacted him, he felt like he could really trust someone. True, he never would have thought that it would be Yassen Gregorovich, but nevertheless he was happy. He gave Yassen a small smile, and they shared a look of understanding. Maybe this mission wasn't going to be so difficult after all.

XXX

So, there we have it! Alex has someone that cares about him :D Please review, it will make me a very happy person! xxxxx


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, here is chapter 7! Sorry about the wait, but I have a shared computer and don't get it to myself over the weekend :/ anyways, hope you like it!

Chapter 7

Alex woke up, muttering under his breath about the pain in his muscles. As he shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position, his arm brushed against something warm, and memories from last night came rushing back to him. Alex opened his eyes, and saw with a smile that Yassen was sleeping next to him. He had insisted on staying in Alex's room over night to make sure that no one came in and hurt him. For the first time in months, maybe even years, Alex got a good night's sleep.

As Alex lay looking at Yassen, he absent-mindedly ran his mind over the plan. They had decided to get out of the sweat shop in the morning and wait for Wilson to leave, so they could follow him to his base. After a long argument, Alex had agreed that after they had found out Wilson's plan, Yassen could kill him.

It was against Alex's nature to let something like this happen; but he reminded himself that it was for the best and that if he was going to trust Yassen he would have to get used to the idea of people getting killed. Yassen was the best in the world, and after all, Wilson probably deserved it. The only difference between Wilson and the other evil men that had died because of Alex was the fact that he would die with a simple shot to the head.

As Alex laid thinking to himself, Yassen stirred. Alex rolled his eyes as he turned over and saw Yassen looking wide awake, even though he had clearly just woken up. With a swift movement, Yassen stood up, and looked down at Alex.

"We should get going soon, Alex. We don't want to miss Wilson."

Alex just looked at him, with a scowl on his face.

"How can you possibly not be tired? I don't think I can even get up right now, never mind concentrate on anything."

Alex tried to keep frowning, but found it impossible when Yassen gave him a rare smile. Without replying, he leant over and offered Alex his hand. Alex grinned and took it, stumbling to his feet. Yassen stood and looked at him for a moment, still holding his hand, and Alex felt something that felt suspiciously like butterflies stirring in the pit of his stomach.

Before he had time to register it, Yassen had swiftly grabbed his bag and opened the door, gesturing for Alex to follow him. Alex did so, feeling slightly unnerved about what had just happened.

He followed Yassen to the car that was waiting outside, and climbed into the passenger seat. As Alex buckled himself in, his hand brushed against Yassen's, and he blushed, turning towards the window to hide his embarrassment. What was happening to him? If he didn't know any better, he would have said he was developing a school boy crush on Yassen...but that couldn't possibly be true. Sure, he was the first person he had trusted in a very long time, and he did find him quite attractive...before Alex could finish his train of thought, they heard a door slam, and saw Wilson striding towards his car. It was time.

XXX

Matthew Wilson sat in his car, heading towards his base. He grinned wickedly to himself as he thought about what he was going to do tomorrow morning. All of the children would be waking up and getting ready for school, completely unsuspecting. And all the parents would look on in horror as his plan came together...

As Wilson ran his mind over his plan again, he saw something out of the corner of his eye in his mirror. A car was following him. Should he try to escape it? No, he decided, it would be easier to trick them. He made up his mind to lead them to a fake base, and creep away when they least expected it. They would have no way of finding him if they couldn't follow him there.

He wasn't going to let anyone outwit him. It had taken years of studying and planning to get to where he was, and nobody was going to get in his way now. He had seen to all those people that had bullied him throughout school. School children these days were no better, if not worse, and he was going to see to it that they all paid for it. When he was finished with them, it would all come together. Wilson giggled to himself quietly, and carried on towards the building that he would pretend was his base. His plan was coming together nicely.

XXX

Alex and Yassen sped after Wilson, heading towards his base. When they got there, they would find somewhere to sleep, and in the morning they would find out what Wilson was doing and stop him. Whatever it was, Alex was pretty sure it would be something catastrophic, and there was no room for error. They had to stop him.

Alex desperately tried to keep his mind clear and ready, but no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts kept drifting back to Yassen. He felt confused. How could his thoughts about Yassen have changed so much in such a short time?

Despite this, his feelings just felt...right. Like he was supposed to feel this way about Yassen. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with a reason why he shouldn't feel this way. He had already accepted Yassen's past, and who he was, and there wasn't anything else standing in his way. Apart from the fact that Yassen would never see him like that.

Alex sighed. This was the main fact that was bringing him down. To Yassen, he was just a child, his best friend's son. There wasn't anything Alex could do to make him see otherwise. As Alex pondered these thoughts, he was shaken out of his reverie by the car sliding to a halt.

"We're here." Yassen spoke softly, watching out of the window as Wilson walked through the door of the building they had pulled up to. It looked like an old factory, and seemed like the perfect place for a base. No one was likely to be suspicious of it, and it was in the middle of nowhere so people coming in and out wouldn't be noticed.

After giving Wilson time to get inside, they crept out of the car and towards the building. Strangely, there didn't seem to be any lookouts around, although they didn't let their guard down. He could have men anywhere. However, they made it inside without being seen, and headed towards a corridor that looked disused. One of the rooms down here would be perfect to sleep in without being seen.

As Alex watched apprehensively, Yassen put together two sleeping bags on the floor. They seemed to be rather close together...not that Alex minded this. He just didn't trust himself not to wake up cuddling Yassen or something, which could be rather embarrassing. However, he didn't have much choice in the matter, so he climbed into his sleeping bag, which seemed much more comfortable than the long gone mattress. He would be happy never to see that again.

Unsurprisingly, Yassen fell asleep almost at once, and Alex was left lying peacefully, happy to watch Yassen sleep. After a while, he drifted off, unconsciously snuggling closer to Yassen, whether for warmth or something else entirely.

XXX

Alex woke up, feeling, for some reason, safe and warm. After a second, he remembered where he was, and opened his eyes. He saw, with a shock of butterflies to his stomach, that he was lying pressed right up against Yassen. He could feel his warmth. However, with another shock, Alex realised that there was a warm arm flung over him, pulling him close. Yassen was...cuddling him? Alex decided not to debate this, and moved closer, savouring the feeling of Yassen warming him up. He smiled to himself, wondering what Yassen would think when he woke up.

He didn't have long to wait. After a while, he heard Yassen's breathing return to normal, and felt him stir slightly. Alex decided to let Yassen react before showing that he was awake. However, Alex was surprised to feel Yassen pulling him closer, and smiled. In response, he put his own arm around Yassen, cuddling him back. They stayed in that position for what felt like years, before Yassen eventually pulled back slightly to look Alex in the eye.

"We should get ready, Alex. Wilson could be completing his plan as we speak..."

Yassen climbed out of his sleeping bag, and turned away. Alex was left feeling cold at the loss of a warm body next to his. He wondered absent-mindedly why Yassen had been so open with him. He was pretty sure he didn't cuddle people very often. He decided it was probably because Yassen saw him as a son, and pushed it to the back of his mind. He had more important things to worry about today.

However, as he slowly climbed out of his sleeping bag, he saw Yassen standing stock still.

"Something is wrong..." He spoke slowly, narrowing his eyes. He strode towards the window, looking out towards the road. This seemed to confirm his suspicions.

"Wilson has gone. We have been tricked." He looked furious with himself.

"Tricked? How?"

"He must have realised we were following him and led us to a fake base. He has already left for his real base; we have no way of finding him." Yassen spoke with cold anger in his voice. However, Alex smiled slightly. He had a solution.

"I think I know how we can find him. Right at the beginning of my mission, he took my watch from me. It had a tracking device in it that MI6 put in there. If he still has my watch on him, we can find him." He smiled triumphantly at Yassen, and he smiled back.

"It looks like MI6 have done something useful for a change, Alex."

They headed quickly towards the car. As they went, Alex was calling MI6, explaining the situation, and within minutes they were in the car, heading towards Wilson. They still had a chance of getting him, if they were quick. Alex smiled to himself. The mission was as good as finished, considering he had Yassen with him. This time tomorrow it would all be over. What could possibly go wrong?

XXXXXX

Hope you liked this chapter, I'm not sure of it myself. Let me know what you think, please review! X x x


	8. Chapter 8

The end is finally here! Sorry for the wait, but I go back to college on Friday and I've had so much work to do :/ but enough of my crap excuses, heres the last chapter! Enjoy! X

Chapter 8

Alex sat in the car with Yassen, fidgeting constantly. The nearer they got to Wilson's HQ, the more nervous he was getting. Sure, it seemed like it would be easy enough, but he had enough experiences from previous missions to sufficiently worry him.

The only conversation between him and Yassen had been brief. Neither of them was in the mood for socialising right now. After all, there would be plenty of time for that when the mission was over and they were completely safe. Alex's heart skipped a beat as he thought about what would happen between them when the mission was finished, but he couldn't keep up that train of thought at the moment. He needed his wits about him.

As Alex sat looking out of the window with a frown on his face, he was shaken out of his thoughts by a sudden grinding noise from the engine of the car. Smoke started pouring out of the bonnet, and with a final groan the car ground to a halt. There was a deep silence in the car for a moment as they both registered what had just happened.

Yassen climbed out of the car without saying a word, the stony look on his face saying enough. He looked under the bonnet briefly, and then slammed it with a look of resigned fury on his face.

"There is no hope of fixing it. We'll have to walk..."

Alex's heart sunk. He climbed out of the car and started walking with Yassen, doubts shooting through his mind like wildfire. He could barely walk at all, how was he supposed to walk all the way to Wilson's HQ, still with energy left to finish it when he got there? And what if they didn't get there in time? He couldn't bear to think about what would happen if they were too late.

With a heavy heart, Alex quickened his pace, knowing that he was going to have to push himself to the limit to complete this mission. There wasn't any room for error.

XXX

20 minutes later, Alex was beginning to lose faith. He was getting slower with every step; Yassen hadn't said anything but Alex could tell he was getting frustrated. Just as he thought he was going to have to stop, he saw something in the distance. He looked to Yassen, and confirmed his theory with a brief nod. He never thought he would be so pleased to see an evil mastermind's HQ.

They eventually crept up towards the building, and Alex realised how stupid he was to think that the last building had been Wilson's base. This one was a massive, brand new building. There were armed guards everywhere you looked, along with patrolling guard dogs.

This was going to be a lot harder than he thought...however, as these thoughts went through his mind, he glanced at Yassen, and smiled. He was sitting, observing every guard, and Alex had no doubt that he was memorising where every single one of them was. Alex had overlooked one thing. He had Yassen Gregorovich with him.

As Alex watched, Yassen pulled out what looked like a gun. However, just as Alex was about to complain, Yassen slipped into the gun some darts that were clearly going to be used to knock out the guards. Alex knew that if Yassen had been by himself, he would have just killed the guards. He felt strangely pleased that Yassen would do this just for his benefit.

Silently, Yassen motioned for Alex to come behind him, and he swiftly moved forwards towards the first guard, ducking behind a bush for cover. Alex dived behind him, and watched with awe as Yassen aimed and hit the guard with barely a second to spare. He didn't even hear the guard cry out.

The rest of the guards were taken out with similar skill and speed, and before long Alex and Yassen were around the back of the building, looking for an inconspicuous way to get in. Alex spotted a small door, and pointed it out. They crept nearer, Yassen holding his gun steady, but no one seemed to be around here. It was probably a servant's entrance, or something similar.

Swiftly, Yassen kicked the door in, gun at the ready to knock out any guards that may have heard the noise. However, it seemed they had been lucky, as no guards came rushing towards them. Now all they had to do was find their way to where Wilson was going to go through with his plan. As Alex looked around desperately, an announcement suddenly played through speakers that Alex noticed were attached to all the walls.

"Signal commencing activation in 5 minutes. All personnel report to roof. Signal commencing activation in 5 minutes."

Alex looked triumphantly at Yassen. So that was what Wilson was doing? He was sending a signal through the phones. Alex didn't even want to think about what that signal was going to do to the poor children that had bought his phones.

With this information stored away, Alex followed Yassen towards a staircase that was just around the corner from where they had entered the building. They climbed up countless stairs, Alex becoming more and more tired, before finally coming across another door barring their way. Yassen kicked it in with what looked like no effort at all, and they both crept onto the roof, Alex limping slightly.

As they emerged onto the roof, Alex quickly took in his surroundings with a brief look. There was a large tower at the other end of the building, where Alex presumed the signal was going to be sent from. Matthew Wilson was standing at the bottom of the tower, next to a button that looked suspiciously like an activation button. As Alex took in the scene, he heard another announcement.

"Signal commencing activation in 1 minute. All personnel report to roof. Signal commencing activation in 1 minute".

Alex gathered up all his strength, and ran towards the other side of the roof. Wilson looked up sharply at the sound of his footsteps, and Yassen quickly ran towards Alex, trying to stop him from running right towards the enemy.

As Wilson produced a gun from his jacket, the world around Alex seemed to slow down. It was as if he had left his body, and could see himself running towards Wilson, crying out. He watched in horror as Wilson aimed the gun at him and pulled the trigger.

The deafening bang of the gun seemed to pull Alex back into the present, and he stopped, looking down at himself in horror. Blood was slowly spreading from a wound in his shoulder. He dropped to his knees, the pain blossoming and spreading down his arm and his side.

Yassen took all of this in with one deadly glare on his face, and turned towards Wilson, his own gun raised. However, before he fired, he glanced down at Alex, who was watching what was happening with an increasingly pale face. Alex looked Yassen in the eye and nodded. All emotion was gone from his face, apart from a cold hard stare.

With that, Yassen turned back towards Wilson and raised his gun again. With a cry, Wilson dropped his gun, and began shouting at Yassen, his face a picture of twisted anger.

"You couldn't just let me finish my plan, could you? You had to go meddling! You've ruined everything; 20 years of my life, wasted! And all because of some stupid school kid. It's people like him I was trying to kill! I'm fed up of stupid, arrogant little kids thinking they're better than everyone else, thinking they can go around bullying whoever they want, just because they can! I could have been the one responsible for killing you all!"

Wilson had a deranged smile on his face as he pictured what would have happened. Yassen gave him an almost pitying look, before letting his finger rest on the trigger. With one last whimper, Wilson looked straight down the barrel of the gun. It seemed he had realised it was too late to talk Yassen out of killing him. He stepped back, looking as if he was just scared. However, Alex knew what he was trying to do.

"Yassen...the button...he's trying to activate the signal..." Alex summoned up all of his strength, trying to warn Yassen.

Yassen quickly aimed his gun at the button, and hit it right on target. The button exploded, and Wilson fell to his knees, crying out. Yassen looked at him, disgust written all over his face, before finally bringing up the gun to rest against his forehead. Alex looked away; this wasn't something he wanted to see.

He heard the bullet explode from the gun, and gave Yassen a second to cover the body before warily looking around. As he turned, Yassen strode towards him, worry etched on his face.

He pulled off his shirt, ripped it up and began dressing Alex's wound. Alex was strangely not surprised that he'd managed to get shot again, even with Yassen with him. It seemed he was destined to have trouble follow him around, no matter who he had to keep him safe.

Alex looked up into Yassen's face, and gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you..." Alex whispered. He didn't need to say anything else, all of his emotion was clear to see on his face. As he gazed upwards, Yassen looked back down, right into his eyes, and Alex saw, finally, all of the emotions that Yassen had been keeping behind a mask for all of these years.

Yassen smiled slightly, and Alex felt a shock of butterflies in his stomach. Yassen still managed to make Alex a bunch of nerves, even when he had just been shot. Why did this not surprise him? However, as Alex smiled back, something extremely surprising happened. Yassen began to lean towards him, until their faces were mere millimetres apart.

Yassen looked into his eyes, and Alex tried to put all his unspoken emotions into his eyes. This seemed to be all the confirmation Yassen needed, and he moved forwards, closing the gap. As their lips joined, Alex's eyes fluttered shut, and he leaned forwards, savouring the moment. The pain in his shoulder seemed to disappear, he forgot he was sitting on the roof of Wilson's HQ; the only thing going through his mind was how amazing Yassen was at kissing.

Finally, Yassen drew back, and Alex caught his breath. He was flushed, and couldn't stop himself from grinning happily at Yassen. Yassen, of course, looked completely composed. The only tell-tale sign was the look in his eyes when he looked at Alex. It needed no explanation. They were the most unlikely couple, and yet it felt completely right.

Alex felt he should say something, but he felt completely speechless. It was as if his whole vocabulary had disappeared from his mind. As he opened his mouth to try and put his emotions into speech, Yassen put a finger to his lips.

"Don't try to talk, Alex. There will be plenty of time for that later. At the moment, you just need to get to a hospital."

Yassen stood up and pulled Alex into his arms, ready to carry him out of the building. Alex gave him a grateful smile, and thought back to the beginning of the mission. Would he ever have guessed back then that he'd be in the arms of Yassen Gregorovich, after sharing a steamy kiss with him on the roof of Wilson's HQ? Probably not, Alex thought to himself. Even for him, this was pretty strange. But, after all, Alex thought to himself with a smile, since when has my life ever been normal?

XXXXX

Ok, I hope you liked it! All the reviews, subsrcibes and favourites have been keeping me extremely happy throughout this story, so thanks to everyone who stayed with it! You are my life line! There may be an epilogue coming up, if I get enough reviews saying they want one :P Thanks again, and keep tuned, because I have an idea for another Alex Rider fic brewing! xxxxx


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